Friends of Pine and Spruce pull city back into court
Bochetto describes what happened as "legislation by ambush” that “is not only morally despicable, but illegal as well.”
Legal giant killer George Bochetto is using City Council’s own written rules and procedures to demolish actions it took that violated those same governing principles.
That is the main thrust of a complaint Center City lawyer Bochetto filed against the city in Common Pleas Court on behalf of the Friends of Pine and Spruce (FOPS), an 11-month-old citizens advocacy nonprofit group.
In stinging language, Bochetto accuses City Council of “flagrant violation” of open meeting laws, and the Philadelphia City Charter, and “blatant disregard” of “the principles of transparent government.”
A key point in the complaint centers around events before, during, and after a Committee on Streets and Services hearing that that took place on September 29, and which was called to discuss Bill No. 250718, titled “Center City Parking Regulations.” It was to apply to all of Center City, from Bainbridge to Spring Garden streets.
Bochetto says that prior to that meeting, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson “held nonpublic consultations with members of City Council to secretly amend the bill so that it would focus only on the Pine/Spruce corridor."
That chicanery was covered in a previous column in which I described what happened as “bait-and-switch.”
The current suit alleges “the public was not notified of the contents of the amendment, and, indeed, the amendment was willfully concealed.”
I know this can be a little hard to follow, but the core issue is very simple — an authoritarian City Council doesn’t like being challenged, and when it is, it rewrites the rules, secretly.
“As per the corrupt bargain struck behind closed doors,” the suit alleges, “the amendment changed the entire purpose of the bill.”
That’s what FOPS claims happened, and if its complaint is upheld, it means the city broke the law.
The state Sunshine Act provides that “the right of the public to be present at all meetings of agencies and to witness the deliberation, policy formulation and decision-making of agencies,” the complaint states.
Bochetto does not shy away from uphill fights against the system. In recent years, he prevented the city from illegally removing a statue of Christopher Columbus, forced the city to return to its rightful owners a wrongly removed statue of Frank Rizzo, and stopped Septa’s service cuts dead in its tracks.
The city’s failure “to provide timely and adequate public notice of its deliberations — along with its secret amendments behind closed doors — constitutes a violation of the Sunshine Act,” the complaint states.
The suit also alleges Council “refused to hold hearings” before the Committee on Law and Government, the Committee on Legislative Oversight, the Committee on Public Health and Human Services, the Committee on Environment, the Committee on People with Disabilities, the Committee on Intergenerational Affairs and Aging, and the Committee on Children and Youth, each of which are stakeholders in the legislation, Bochetto asserts.
The city “has resoundingly violated the foregoing protections and provisions — indeed, through the conduct outlined herein, the public never had notice of the actual bills to be consideted and voted upon,” says Bochetto.
He says City Council “conspired to hold sham hearings . . . that they knew would not be voted on — all the while holding the “true” legislation in their back pocket.”
In a parting shot, Bochetto describes what happened as "legislation by ambush” that “is not only morally despicable, but illegal as well.”
He calls upon the court for relief.
These events are disturbing and disillusioning to FOPS members, most of whom live on or near the Pine and Spruce corridors.
FOPS President Lloyd Brotman has testified many times that FOPS does not oppose bike lanes per se, but seeks a compromise that is fair to all, and restores the promise made by Mayor Michael Nutter, that residents of Pine and Spruce would always have access to their homes — with brief stops allowed in bike lanes to allow pickup and discharge of passengers, deliveries and the like. However, the city does not talk to FOPS, leaving it no choice but to sue.
The complaint references “unelected bureaucrats” in the Streets Department, the mayor’s office, and the Office of Transportation Infrastructure Systems who have “become completely beholden to (and corrupted by) a vocal minority of bicyclists — who comprise somewhere between 0 and 2% of city traffic — leading to a situation where the needs of all other motorists and residents are ignored.”
Brief stops in bike lanes had been the policy for some 15 years until someone put a bee in the bonnet of Council President Johnson, who came up with the insane and unjustified idea to prohibit even momentary stopping in bicycle lanes.
By the way, his bill had nothing to do with safety. Philadelphia Police Department, going back five years, has no reports of any accidents caused by a stopped car on Pine or Spruce, according to police stats that I had requested.
For whatever reason, oblivious to facts, Johnson was hell bound to fix a problem that didn’t exist.
And he is willing to do it in a dirty way, according to the suit.
The City declined to comment while litigation is active. “We will file our response with the court in due time,” said a spokesperson.
